I think most of the people who buy those Isle boards are from Idaho or Ohio and use them as dorm room bong display tables.. the shipping cheap is enough. to bad the good stuff like trac-pads and wax anr't super duper cheap.. Never seen one in the water here in San Deigo and I think their warehouse is in National City.. I wonder if Wal-Mart will be selling these surfboards soon.. :(

massproduced board, half the price but also half the quality, lasts half as long.
quality custom board twice the price, but lasts twice as long, and is better quality.

What about all those customs and off the racks that last a season at best even if they are made in the US of A? I don't see any reason a chinaman can't produce a surfboard of equal quality to a US made board. Heck, the china worker can spend many times as long looking after details on the board, they can have quality control personel beyond any American factories are capable of and all for a fraction of what one US shaper costs in labour. Welcome to the world economy and the beauty of capitalism. As a foreigner I couldn't care less if the product is made in the US or anywhere else. Quality is all that matters. Customs are the way to go, but for those who buy off the racks the cause is already lost. Bottomline: make a better products or you'll be out of buisness. regards, Håvard

That a very good point harvard, I guess my rant should be directed towards masproduction in general, I obviously there's a market for these boards as economiclly speaking demand fuels supply, I'm not trying to fight those kind of marketforces, they'er big than me, and I could never supply that number of people anyway, but I want to be values as a person, not as just a consumer.
I don't doubt for a second that some one in china is equal to someone any where else in the world, but I would question that if the chinese boards are imported to america, how in touch is the producer with his target demographic.
its a similar story in any industry at various points in time all over the worked, handcraft fear big business, but at the end of the day hopfully there will be room for both.

think I just had a bad day at work, I should also point out that i live in the UK, so it's not about, buy at home, I just see an established industry being outstripped by a foriegn one, maybe this could be a good thing and lead to world harmony, who know? just have to wait and see.

Here on Oahu, thru my eyes anyway, there does'nt seem to be too many Chinese poly boards. I tend to see more Surf Tech and Board Works epoxies out in the water, longboards especially. I think the main difference between the pop outs coming out now compared to the ones in the early 60's is that they are much more refined shape wise. How durable they are, I would'nt know as I've never owned one, but the shapes look pretty decent to me.

The Chinese boards will most likely appeal to beginners or those on a tight budget. Somewhere along the line they'll move up to either a custom or an off the rack domestically made board.

I live in South Korea, and I have been researching and shaping surfboards since 2008. Surfing became so popular starting 2012, and I am pretty sure every shop will desperately need for more rental boards this year. From my observation last year, majority of rental surfboards(soft-top and 'resin' board) were made in China. And, A lot of shops are looking for shapers to make them surfboards in Korea. I use EPS block foam to make blanks(manufactured locally),and purchase other parts like fin box, leash plugs, etc from a few companies in the States. The problem is that the shipping fee for those parts actually exceeds the price of items. So somehow those parts have to be manufactured in Kroea for the future or find the source within manageable distance. The surfing biz is not as big as one of the States or Australia, but Korea will comsume a lot of 'made-in China' surfboards for quite some time.

You seem like a very resourceful guy. If I were in your situation I'd go the rest of the way and do an all-ROK surfboard. Make your own fins and either glass them on or rout them in, and use leash loops. You might as well figure out how to make your own leashes, too. Put your logo on everything and charge whatever it takes for you to clear a profit. I'll bet your local surfers would keep you busy.